EL PASO, Texas (Border Report) — The former head of the Border Patrol’s Miami Sector has been named the chief patrol agent of the Big Bend Sector headquartered in Marfa, Texas.

Walter N. Slosar took over the Big Bend Sector last week, and according to a U.S. Customs and Border Protection news release, U.S. Border Patrol Chief Jason Owens announced his selection in an internal email early last month.

The Border Patrol’s Big Bend Sector’s Marfa Station in Marfa, Texas. (Fernie Ortiz/Border Report)

Slosa is no stranger to the West Texas border region; He was acting deputy chief patrol agent of the El Paso Sector from 2021 to 2022.

“I am honored to be selected to lead and serve alongside the men and women of the U.S. Border Patrol in the Big Bend Sector,” he said in a statement. “We have an important mission to safeguard 517 miles of our nation’s border in one of the most rugged and remote regions along the Southwest Border and to combat transnational criminal organizations exploiting our area of operation.”

Sean L. McGoffin, the former head of the Big Bend Sector is now the chief patrol agent of the Yuma Sector in Arizona.

A graduate of the 384th U.S. Border Patrol Academy, Slosar was first assigned to the Santa Teresa Station on Aug. 2, 1998, in the El Paso Sector, which stretches from Hudspeth County, Texas, to the New Mexico-Arizona state line. He has since held various leadership positions at the CBP and U.S. Border Patrol headquarters.

Other previous assignments include:

  • Division Chief, Law Enforcement Operations, El Paso Sector
  • Patrol Agent in Charge, Santa Teresa Station, El Paso Sector
  • Acting CBP Attaché in Guatemala
  • CBP Advisor in Panama
  • Patrol Agent in Charge, Fort Hancock Station, El Paso Sector
  • Deputy Patrol Agent in Charge, Fort Hancock Station, El Paso Sector
  • Assistant Chief, USBP Headquarters
  • Field Operations Supervisor, Santa Teresa Station, El Paso Sector
  • Supervisory Border Patrol Agent, Ysleta Station and Santa Teresa, El Paso Sector